Monday, February 29, 2016

Another 11.5 miles (18.5 km) added to L.A.'s suburban rail system with the extension from Sierra Madre Villa. Parties at five of the six new stations are being held between 11 am and 4 pm; trains begin running at noon and rides will be free from noon until midnight on Saturday on the entire Gold Line.

Parking is first-come, first-served at all the new Gold Line stations.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica will open on May 20.

And because the name “Expo Line” is a little on the dull side, Mayor Eric Garcetti coined a new slogan for the light rail line that travels between downtown L.A. and downtown Santa Monica.

“For the first time in 60 years,” the mayor said in a news release, “Angelenos will have a railway to the sea -- taking us from 'Grand to the sand' just in time for summer.” If you don't that slogan, you can propose something better.

A senior Taliban commander was demonstrating how to handle explosivesThe safety demonstration was to show recruits how to build suicide vestsHowever, the commander accidentally detonated the device prematurelyOnly two of the suspected terrorists survived the blast in the Madrassa

It has long been known that Saudi Arabia funds the building of mosques and promotes its extremist salafist/wahhabist ideology among Muslims around the world, including in Australia where new 'mosqtrocities' have been springing up faster than McDonalds outlets.

Now there is this report from Israeli intelligence that Iran is doing the same, and Iran's ability to do this has been given a huge boost from the release of hundreds of millions of dollars of frozen assets in the "we'll trust you not to build nuclear bombs" deal from late last year.

While Israel is naturally concerned about Iranian-backed Muslims targeting Israelis and Israeli assets in other countries, it seems more probable that Iran has Saudi-backed Muslims primarily in its sights. In a post last October, we mentioned that Bahrain discovered an arms stockpile hidden there and blamed Iran.

As if Western security services don't already have enough on their hands with the adherents of "the religion of peace"...

The European Parliament called on the European Union to impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, saying Britain, France and other EU governments should no longer sell weapons to a country accused of targeting civilians in Yemen.

EU lawmakers, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of an embargo, said Britain had licensed more than $3 billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia since Saudi-led forces began military operations in Yemen in March last year.

Although there is much doubt about the capability of Saudi Arabia's army--the general belief is that it is just as bad as Iraq's army--that doesn't affect Saudi Arabia's ability to conduct bombing raids on Shiites in Yemen, simply because they are supported by Iran. Saudi Arabia also needs to be prevented from any involvement in Syria for the same reason.

This was built by built by Henry Robb of Leith, Scotland, and was specially designed to carry pyritic ores from the shallow draft port of Strahan, Tasmania to Melbourne. The ship was sold in 1972 and traded for another 13 years in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Date unknown, however, as on most regional lines, locomotive-hauled passenger trains were normally only used at peak holiday times after the Fiat railcars were introduced circa 1956. For more, see our books.

The impression given by the news coverage of the mess made by the Muslims invading Europe is that they simply relieve themselves wherever it suits them, and while many of them do, for the devout ones, there is a routine involved.

For one thing, they are supposed to squat over a hole rather than sit on a seat, also they are not supposed to face Mecca, or have their bottoms facing that way, so they need to be orientated at an oblique angle. And they are supposed to use water to wash the area involved after, for example with a hose, rather than use toilet paper, and use only their left hand.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Built in 1874, M/S Juno is the oldest registered cruise boat in the world, seen here in the 200-km Göta canal.

"Her passengers are said to have included Henrik Ibsen and Hans Christian Andersen, and, apart from exchanging steam for diesel power, she hasn't changed much since they trod her decks.

"Sailing on this grand old lady is like stepping back to an era before radio, television and the internet. None of these newfangled devices is available to passengers, and the use of mobile phones in her saloons is frowned upon."

Appealing to water-skiers and snow-skiers (presumably for those living in the Middle East wanting to experience it in Europe). Middle East Airlines was founded in 1945 in Beirut, Lebanon, and operated flights to Syria, Cyprus and Egypt. Routes expanded later. Early jets included the Caravelle and, on this poster, the Comet 4.

(The vehicle was first used for the "Leibstandarte-SS - Adolf Hitler" and was then transferred to the personal staff of the "Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler," the last owner in WW2 and with this vehicle took part in the Russian campaign in January 1945 as commander of Army Group Vistula.

The Wanderer was shipped after the war to Russia and then stood as a cultural historical unique item to 1991 in the Museum in Riga, as the car of the RF-SS. The museum was closed and relocated as part of perestroika into the West.

This oldtimer is not a replica but an original which is still in very good, partially restored condition.

The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad (BC&G) was a shortline chartered in 1904 and ran a bit under 20 miles (32 km) along Buffalo Creek in Clay County, West Virginia. The original Buffalo Creek and Gauley ended service in 1965.

The BC&G was one of the last all-steam railroads; it never operated a diesel locomotive and for this reason became popular with steam enthusiasts in its last years. Its primary purpose was to bring coal out of the mountains above Widen to an interchange with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Dundon.

For four decades the line sat dormant and abandoned until 2005 when the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad Co-Operative was formed to revive the entire railroad between Dundon and Widen for a tourist railroad.

BC&G's Consolidation #13 was built by Alco in 1920. It is now privately owned and stored inaccessible to public view at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugar Creek, Ohio. More on #13

Seen berthed in Wellington, NZ, this was a 7,755 ton (displacement) cargo and passenger liner which operated along the New Zealand route. The Gothic could carry 104 First class passengers along with 114 Second and Steerage class passengers. Operating from its White Star berth in Plymouth, RMS Gothic would sail along the west coast of Europe to the Canary islands, then continue down to Cape Town, South Africa, heading to Australia and finally arriving in New Zealand.

We went to see the movie Carol yesterday in which the two lead characters go on a road trip of sorts in one of these (set in New York 1953, they get to drive as far as Waterloo, Iowa). Any movie involving classic cars in plenty of scenes gets our attention :-)

According to imdb.com:-

"a 1949 Packard Super Deluxe 8 with a 327-cubic-inch Straight 8 Flathead engine and a three-speed gear shift on the steering column. It features a very rare "Egyptian" hood ornament. The hood opens either from the left or right side. The vehicle was leased to the production company by the owner after responding to an appeal by the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission for early 1950s cars, cabs, trucks and buses. Harge [a character]'s car is a 1952 Cadillac Series 75 Fleetwood Limousine. Abby [another character]'s car is a 1950 Packard Custom Eight convertible. The yellow-and-red taxis seen parked or moving in several scenes are a 1950 Chevrolet and a 1949 Dodge."

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All at Sea: stories of New Zealand seafarers

Narratives from interviews conducted over several years with 16 merchant navy sailors - 14 men and 2 women - who recounted their stories from the last full fledged sailing ship, the Pamir being returned to her home country of Finland after WWII to recent stories on today's inter-island ferries and coastal vessels, as well as international cargo and passenger ships which sailed to various parts of the globe. A full range of occupations are covered from Deck Boy, Engineer, Steward to Master as well as harbour pilots, union leaders and shipping company executives.

NZR Memorabilia

A fabulous new book containing many colourful illustrations of old postcards, pamphlets, posters, and a wide range of objects that have been used by the NZR and its personnel from the 1860s to the present time. Together they tell in visual form the importance of NZR to NZ and its people over the past 150 years and provides a useful reference for collectors.

Voyage to Gallipoli

Details of the troopships to the Gallipoli campaign of WW1 and more WW1 naval history.